


Mine

by demonic-figs (the_three_garridebs)



Category: Venom (Comics), Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Fluff, Possible smut, Relationship Issues, boundaries!!!, not in the first chapter though, okay actually definitely smut i lied to you, post-venom (2018), symbrock, what can i say i live and die by the slow burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-07-28 07:58:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16237430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_three_garridebs/pseuds/demonic-figs
Summary: A multi-chapter fic exploring what happens following the Venom movie.~Excerpt~Venom is always there.Not intrusive, or overwhelming, just present, like a quiet passenger in a train car. Minding his own business, thinking his own thoughts. They talk a lot, obviously, but Eddie enjoys their conversations. It’s amusing to see the human world through the eyes of an extraterrestrial toddler. And Venom is that. Despite the malevolently slanted eyes, and teeth to rival those of a great white shark, there is an innate childishness about him.Eddie leans out the window of his new apartment. It’s more sparsely furnished than the last, since most of his possessions were destroyed by Drake’s men. But what he gained is incomparable to what he lost. Not that he would ever tell his symbiote that.





	1. Possession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie and Venom share a quiet moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow did not expect to become a part of the venom fandom but here we fucking are. this was honestly one of the easiest fics to conceive and write and that genuinely worries me. next time, sony, let's go r-rated. sorry this chapter is short; i rewrote it a bunch of times. hopefully, the next few will be a little longer.

Venom is always there.

Not intrusive, or overwhelming, just present, like a quiet passenger in a train car. Minding his own business, thinking his own thoughts. They talk a lot, obviously, but Eddie enjoys their conversations. It’s amusing to see the human world through the eyes of an extraterrestrial toddler. And Venom is that. Despite the malevolently slanted eyes, and teeth to rival those of a great white shark, there is an innate childishness about him. 

Eddie leans out the window of his new apartment. It’s more sparsely furnished than the last, since most of his possessions were destroyed by Drake’s men. But what he gained is incomparable to what he lost. Not that he would ever tell his symbiote that. 

**Yes?**

“How ya doing buddy?” 

**I have all that I require.**

They stare into the distance together, senses intermingling. Venom absorbs the fear Eddie feels at standing so close to a high ledge, and Eddie can smell a bucket of lobster water being dumped out behind a Chinese restaurant seventeen blocks away. 

“Do you ever miss your home planet?” 

**In truth, I do not. It was an ugly place, with lots of killing, and little food. And no people.**

Eddie laughs. A single tendril of slick black sneaks out of his forearm and hangs from the upper part of the window sill, bouncing idly back and forth in the smog-smeared breeze. Eddie’s fingers brush the tendril briefly. He’s still slightly in awe of Venom. Or, not _him_ exactly, but how quickly he has found a nook for himself in Eddie’s being, filled the gap that was always empty. 

**No, Eddie. Not all people need symbiotes.**

“That’s not what I was thinking.” 

**But you’re right. Some are better suited to the job than others.**

“It’s not a job.” 

The tendril detaches from the window sill and disappears into Eddie, leaving a temporary flower-like imprint on his skin. A warmth which Eddie has learned is Venom flits up and down his spine before resting at the base of his neck and pulsing once, twice, sending ripples of hot chocolate feeling down Eddie’s body. 

A Venom purr. 

Eddie smiles, and withdraws into the apartment, closing the curtains tightly behind him. 


	2. Consumption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A person is eaten. Venom gets worried about Eddie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm absolutely bowled over by the reception of this fic, especially given that I didn't boost it anywhere else. people really are just that thirsty for primo venom content. have some crisp autumn love and a longER chapter.

“Do you see him?” 

**Yes. Smells good.**

Venom’s animalistic hunger leaks through the cracks of Eddie’s consciousness, and suddenly, he too is insatiably ravenous for human flesh. He takes a moment to collect himself, pushing down the tantalizing promise of a neck between his jaws. Then his eyes flash open and he gives himself over to Venom, who oozes out of his skin, and engulfs his entire body. 

The transformation has become second nature to them, so there’s barely an instant of adjustment before they spring out of the shadows and tear into the man who has another man pushed up against a wall. His bones, soft and inconsequential in Venom’s giant claws, pop off his torso like the plastic limbs of a Barbie doll. Everything is heat and sound and taste, exquisite taste. Eddie can actually feel his eyes rolling back into his head, the carnal pleasure of eating something long craved sending him into sensory overload. He reminds himself as it’s happening that it is absolutely wrong to derive pleasure from eating other human being.

_Absolutely_ wrong. 

But there’s just something about it that’s fucking delightful. 

Then it’s over. 

They grin, panting with exertion, ropes of blood swaying from their teeth, spattering the dirty pavement. Then, slowly, Venom seeps under Eddie’s skin, and the back alley is quiet again. 

“Th-thank you,” the remaining man stutters out. He picks up his jacket and stumbles back towards the street.

**Bad man…delicious.**

Eddie sighs. “He really was.” 

**Ha! You see, it is not so horrible to eat people. Especially their brains.**

“What? No, no, no. _You_ liked it, and that rubbed off on me. _I_ didn’t like it.” 

**But you like to please me. So perhaps you…wanting to please me…were pleased anyway.**

“I do not like to please you. I can do whatever I want.” 

Eddie walks over to his motorcycle, kicks up the stand, and settles into the seat. His cheeks are hot and flushed, and the world spins. He hates how electrically alive he feels, how razor sharp the moonlight is on his arms, and neck, and shoulders. For a moment, he just breathes, fingers twitching on the handlebars. Then he slumps over and the world goes black.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

**Eddie.**

The word is insistent, ringing across his skull; the voice, deep and rich and menacing. 

**_Eddie._ **

Again, the same word, but gentler. In a softer key. There’s a flare of tenderness around the edges, but maybe that’s just his imagination.

**EDDIE.**

Impatient, with a note of desperation, it is this final attempt that brings Eddie back to his senses, and the universe swinging back into focus. 

“Jesus _Christ_. Goddamn.” 

**Lie down.**

“I’m fine, really—” 

**LIE DOWN.**

A small team of black appendages force Eddie back onto the bed. One laces over his stomach and locks him there, like he’s an insane person in an asylum. Another snakes back in from the kitchen and places a cup of brackish water on the bedside table

“Venom, what is that?” 

**Black drink. Bean stuff. You make it every morning. How do you not remember.**

“Oh.” 

Eddie picks it up and eyes it, stifling a laugh as it dawns on him that it’s only a cup of grounds and water.

“You didn’t use the machine.” 

**No. What machine?**

“Nothing.”

He restores the mug to its place on the nightstand and scrubs a hand over his face. For some inexplicable reason, Eddie feels guilty. As though he’s failed Venom somehow, betrayed him. He knows he hasn’t, but still. 

“Listen, I’m sorry about passing out on you. I don’t know what happened. Usually, it’s not so… _intense_ , but this time, I just let my guard down.” 

**It’s my fault.**

For the first time, Eddie catches the shame and apology in Venom’s voice. He thinks back to all the times Venom promised him that he would never hurt him, or Anne, or any of the people he cares about. Eddie almost smiles. It’s ridiculous, how much the scary symbiote from outer space is concerned with the fragile life of a single, not-particularly-brilliant, human. Yet he does. Venom cares. And he thinks that this is all his doing, which it certainly is not. 

“Venom, it isn’t your fault. I should have managed myself better. I’m not even hurt.” 

**You blacked out.**

“Yeah, because I was having such a great time.” 

**Really?**

“Could you not feel how into it I was? The surprise of finding out that I… _like_ it…not exactly _eating_ people, just like, the feeling of being so…satisfied—okay, it’s hard to explain.” 

**Are you sure it was not me?**

“I’m sure. Really, I am.” 

Doubt clenches in Venom’s mind, and the reverb makes Eddie smirk, despite himself. It is comforting to know that Venom had been truly worried about him.

Them. 

**You’re going soft.**

“I think it’s you, actually.” 

**ME? I could never be soft. I will eat one thousand faces, gnaw one thousand feet from the ankles of one thousand men—**

“Would you actually eat a foot? Just by itself?”

**Eh. Probably not. Human feet are puny, and unsanitary.**

Eddie laughs, and whatever tension had tightened the cord between them dissolves into nothingness. Venom’s face materializes above the bed, issuing from a stretch of slime on Eddie’s thigh. He grins, eyes white and mischievous, tongue lolling out of his mouth. 

And Eddie has the insane thought that it’s the perfect time for a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey kids!! i am adding this note after publishing the chapter. 
> 
> so...on the subject of pronouns. 
> 
> i think they/them for venom is awesome! despite the character having an overtly masculine design, there's never any explicit mention of venom's gender, so i don't think it's baseless to assume venom is agender. however, i personally prefer to use he/him when i write, because it makes it easier for me to differentiate between eddie and venom, since they have separate consciousnesses. still, there are definitely moments where a "they/them" as a stylistic choice--indicating that eddie and venom are experiencing a heightened sense of union--feels appropriate. and in general, i tend to think of symbrock as a homosexual relationship. basically, i agree with pretty much all interpretations of venom's gender. especially since i believe 1) it is possible to be agender and use he/him pronouns, 2) venom could be genderfluid, and 3) he's literally an alien symbiote so the point is mostly moot. 
> 
> okay thanks for listening to my ted talk! (i'd love to hear opinions on this since i'm fairly uneducated in this department; these are just my little feelings on the subject.)


	3. Confluence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Venom and Eddie go swinging through San Francisco during a thunderstorm. Venom finally brings up Anne.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i cannot believe that people actually want to read my insane wish fulfillment. but here we are... <3 thank you for all the lovely comments on the last chapter. 
> 
> i'm seeing the movie a second time this upcoming saturday, so get ready for some rapid fire updates after then. also, a question: would you prefer if i released chapters every friday, or just as i write them? (i'm leaning towards the latter, since i'm super inspired right now, and i like to get feedback as soon as i finish a chapter. i have zero self control.) let me know!

As the days pass, they merge into each other, not only becoming more adept at switching from Eddie to Venom, and Venom to Eddie, but coexisting in the constraints of Eddie’s body. Eddie no longer feels like a host, but an extension of his symbiote, a logical growth, as necessary as a thumb or a bottom lip. He can tell that Venom feels the same way.

They talk about anything, and everything. Eddie reminisces for hours about his childhood, and Venom recounts past hunts on distant planets. Their former lives appear now as fogged-over portraits of other people, beloved, yet distantly related to their current selves. And somehow, it is through this unrestrained giving that entangles them even further, their experiences intermeshing so thoroughly that Eddie occasionally dreams of places he’s never seen with his own eyes. 

Is this the symbiosis Carlton Drake was obsessed with? These endlessly threaded thoughts, looping from one to the other, in the infinite closed circuitry of their combined consciousness? Or had Drake been after something different all along; not _symbiosis_ , really, but the thrill of absolute strength? 

It’s raining outside, thrashing, and violent. A rare San Francisco thunderstorm. Everyone is huddled by their radiators except for them. Venom has fully materialized, and Eddie is ensconced somewhere within the symbiote’s flesh. The city murmurs around them, the sound and light of human life nothing more than a far away smudge being pounded into grey. Eddie’s pulse races as Venom climbs higher and higher. He knows that it’s impossible for him to fall and that, even if he did, Venom would catch them. But he cannot shake the bone-deep feeling that he is somewhere he is not supposed to be.

**Eddie.**

“Yeah? What is it? Sorry, I’m just concentrating on not barfing up my entire lunch.” 

**Do not barf inside me!**

“Jesus that sounds so weird.” 

**Focus on the rain. Close your eyes.**

“My eyes are already closed. And I’m seeing out of _your_ eyes, anyway.” 

**Just pretend you are doing it.**

Eddie obeys. Despite being unable to properly feel his eyelids, he closes his eyes. He channels his sensory energy through Venom’s skin, and taps into whatever node allows Venom to feel the drenching cold without discomfort. Like this, he is able to detect each individual drop of rain hitting their skin, points of cold tickling up and down their spine. Eddie lasts through the next few seconds of climbing and actually manages to enjoy himself. Venom’s panting exhilaration slips into Eddie’s mind as smoke sneaks under a door. 

_I like this._

**Knew it.**

Reaching the top is triumphant. Venom’s slightly distorted sense of vision makes the outstretched city look like a dream. Buildings lurk out of blue swirls of storm, and a few rain-glossed umbrellas move on the sidewalk. Eddie’s heart thuds in his chest—their chest? Venom’s chest?—as it occurs to him that he is _twenty stories above solid ground._

“Venom! Venom, bring us down. Bring us down _right now_. Holy fucking shit.” 

As his adrenaline spikes, Venom adjusts, pressing a warm tendril of calmness into his mind. 

**Don’t be a child.**

At this point, it is all Eddie can do to keep from hyperventilating. He forces himself to recenter. 

“Shut up.”

Venom rolls his neck, stretching out every single one of the sinewy muscles that are usually dissolved into Eddie’s body. Eddie grabs onto the relish Venom feels and clings to it. 

**You’re so needy.**

“No. You are.” 

They tumble over the side of the building, and because Eddie knows he’s safe, and because this time, he isn’t dreaming, he is able to gather himself and lean into the free-fall wholeheartedly. Writhing through darkness, they plummet, an unstoppable force of momentum. Then, right as the pavement begins to look alarmingly close, Venom extends his arms and propels themselves into the air, springing into the sky. 

There is a moment of dizzying weightlessness, like missing a step on the stairs, or being caught in turbulence on an airplane.

Their heart catches in their throat. 

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

Eddie towels off his hair, which is curiously wet, despite Venom’s full materialization. He crosses into the kitchen and flicks on the stove. He knows it’s stupid to have a complex about drinking tea, but he’s always considered it a girly drink. That’s why his kettle and specialty teas are under the sink rather than on the counter. Eddie does not exactly know who he is hiding these things for. It’s not like women are banging down his door.

**Because you are a loser.**

“Gee thanks. I could have a girlfriend if I wanted to, you know.” 

**Do you want to?**

Eddie scratches himself behind the ear. 

“What kind of tea do you want?”

**Don’t change the subject.**

“Earl Grey. Cool.” 

**Is this about Anne? Tell us.**

“I don’t want to talk about it.” He slams the cabinet for emphasis. 

**It is, isn’t it?**

“I said I _do not_ want to talk about it.” 

A note of menacing insistence creeps into Venom’s voice. 

**How long can this go on?**

“She was my fiancé. We were together for a very long time. And the wound is still pretty fresh,” Eddie says through gritted teeth. 

**How much longer will we wait and hunger for what is lost? I am tired of it.**

“You don’t get to decide that. If you’re so tired of it, why don’t you fuck off?” 

Venom withdraws. The heat that was nestled in Eddie’s right shoulder evaporates. Eddie understands instinctively that he’s said the wrong thing, but he doesn’t want to take it back. Why shouldn’t he be allowed to wallow in his pain? If only he hadn’t went through Anne’s inbox, if only he had done his job, if only, if only…

He wouldn’t have Venom. But he would have Anne. 

The kettle whistles. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PS: i promise the smut is coming soon. i just have to do some more research, lol. i have literally never written anything like this fic so i'm not sure how to navigate the...uh...obvious. 
> 
> PPS: if you have tips i'd love to hear them.
> 
> PPPS: my blog is @josepheenmarch if you want to chat about symbrock or whatever. i'm thinking about posting fic updates there, so hmu if you want.


	4. Fission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie and Venom make up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay okay okay. i saw venom a second time, and i have some new thoughts about it. but first off: thank you! you guys have been unbelievably kind and supportive about this ridiculous fic, and i'm extremely grateful. it's really fun to conceptualize a chapter in my head, and then see your reactions to it. enjoy <3
> 
> (we have almost 150 subs on this fic WHAT THE FUCK! i'm so proud and happy, thank you so much)

Eddie has no reason to be upset about Venom’s oppressive silence, especially given that he’s not a teenaged girl waiting for her boyfriend to call after a hook-up. But he can’t help it. People can tell, too. Mrs. Chen has already told him several times that he needs to “perk up” or “get laid.” 

One week has gone by without a word between them.

Everything is great. His job is great, the show is great. Overall, the world is a habitable, palatable place, which is odd, because it seems like it shouldn’t be. 

Eddie can still sense him. Skittering around his knee, pressed against his ribcage. Venom is present. And occasionally, almost accidentally, they touch in the mental space between their consciousnesses, like pedestrians on a busy sidewalk, coat sleeve to coat sleeve. Eddie wishes he could reach out and grab him, but Venom has not bothered to materialize.

It is unsettling, to be in his apartment, and feel truly and completely alone. Every time he stumbles over the carpet, or drops food on the floor, he finds himself waiting for Venom’s low, rumbling chuckle. _You’re being fucking pathetic_ , he thinks to himself. _Just apologize._

Instantly, Eddie’s life becomes quiet again. No more trips to the convenience store for Snickers, no more drawn out lampooning of late night television. 

He had forgotten quiet.

He had forgotten loneliness. 

The whole situation would be easy to remedy, Eddie thinks. If he was willing to admit fault. 

Part of Eddie’s reluctance to apologize stems from his belief that Venom is not actually hurt. How can he be? He’s a human-gobbling symbiote. He doesn’t care about emotions, or long-term relationships, or marriage engagements.

The other thing Eddie thinks about constantly is the kiss, in the woods. That _kiss_. It plays on repeat in his head, always with the same undercurrent of adrenaline and panic and need. Foreign skin, pressed against his own, and then the shocking, slinking feeling of Venom entering his body through his mouth.

_Nothing else in the world like it_ , Eddie muses, scrubbing a plate over the sink. Without realizing what he’s doing, he bites down on his own lip, running his teeth along the flesh. But it’s not even close. It’s more…predatory. Hungry. Sour, with the taste of smoke from a fired gun. He stops moving and leans his head against the kitchen cabinet, no longer self-conscious about the fact that his heart is bleeding out onto the floor. Venom can’t do this. Not when things have been going so well for so long, not when Eddie is beginning to understand where he truly belongs. 

He misses Anne, and no one can replace her, but Venom’s not _trying_ to replace her. They are fundamentally different. Venom’s obsessiveness might be a little perverse, and Eddie’s indulgence might be a little disgusting. But what they have—this fragile, tenuous thing, that stretches between them, and is older than the cosmos—is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of affair. Eddie tries that word out, _affair_. He thinks about Venom’s long pink tongue, the tip of it darting across his own, scraping the inside of his mouth, wet and domineering. And he could tell while it was happening that it could not possibly be Anne.

“Venom?”

A small warmth responds, pulsing on the back of Eddie’s neck. 

“Come out for a sec.” 

**No.**

“Look, I’m sorry, okay? What do you want me to say. It’s a difficult time right now.” 

**You were a real dick.**

“I know, I know.” 

Eddie throws his sponge into the sink. How can he express that their symbiosis is the most gratifying and intense relationship he’s ever experienced in his entire life? How can he explain that the reason why he cannot comprehend Venom and Anne being in the same universe, let alone the same sentence, is that he’s worried about his recent tendency to compare his ex-girlfriend and his current _live-in tentacle monster_? Eddie cannot afford to fuck this up again. 

“I’m sorry,” he says again, more softly. Then he has an idea. It’s something he’s never tried before, despite knowing it would definitely work. He presses the apology into Venom’s mind, clumsily channelling his feelings into one of their connective junctures. Venom is far better at this particular skill, but the symbiote appears to get the message, and responds by spreading throughout his body, radiating waves frustration and forgiveness. He materializes on Eddie’s forearm, seeping through his skin and bubbling up his shoulder, a wad of shifting black licorice that is somehow comforting. Eddie smiles. 

Venom’s whole head emerges from the mass, grinning and swaying. His tongue flicks out of his mouth like that of a snake, brushing over Eddie’s stubble cheek in a sandpaper swipe. 

**I guess it’s fine.**

“Are you going to talk to me instead of sulking?” 

**I was not sulking.**

“You were definitely sulking.”

**You apologize?**

“I do.” 

**Hm. Will you get us some fried chicken?**

“You got it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here are my thoughts, upon a second viewing: 
> 
> critics do not write reviews about whether or not you should see a movie. they write reviews about their professional opinion. it's something i did not wholly understand until digesting this movie again, and seeing how truly funny and campy and stupid it is. this is not a serious movie. it does not pretend to be a serious movie. so film critics who take it seriously, and analyze it like fucking interstellar, are barking up the wrong tree. this movie simply does not require that level of scrutiny. so what if the plot is full of holes, and michelle williams' wig is awful? what about tom hardy's dual performance, or the amazing CGI? or the bass of venom's voice resonating through your seat and into your ass? hm? what about THAT? i feel like the majority of people who read movie reviews aren't looking for an opinion by a professional movie critic, but a simple "yes" or "no" to a straightforward question: should i see this movie? i understand that film criticism as an area of study is important, but let's not forget that venom is about a symbiote creature from outer space that likes tater-tots and chocolate. i mean, come ON. at least it beat out a star is born. lol. i like lady gaga, but that movie just does not seem like a whole lot of fun. 
> 
> also, i get that the movie is pulling a "no-homo" in a lot of ways, but on a second watch, symbrock strikes me as undeniable. i don't get how someone can watch one character say to another "because of YOU" and not feel some kind of romantic chemistry. 
> 
> okay that's it kids, those are my little feelings. it's been kind of a rough couple of days, personally speaking, so i don't know exactly when the next update will be, but it's coming soon. be ready. there will be...kisses...probably...


	5. Reintroduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Venom and Eddie make out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry there haven't been updates in a while! i know i promised that i would update more frequently after the movie, but college work has gotten a little intense. but i am feeling better now (thank you for the sweet "get wells") and back to business! so enjoy this little...smutlet. or whatever. glad to see this fic has been doing so well! 
> 
> * i find that it's sometimes super nice to read venom fic with hot chocolate. just to be on brand. if you need a bit of self-love during these freezing months, that's what i recommend.

Eddie wakes up with Venom on his side. He pulses gently, using Eddie’s lungs to circulate oxygen. Venom’s flesh is smoothly textured, and puckers at slight disturbances, like the arm of an octopus. The physical weight of Venom’s materialization is an embrace, somehow, and Eddie realizes that he is experiencing the same set of emotions he once did when waking up with Anne. Tenderness, and hope, and trust. 

Unconsciously, they shift in sync, Eddie stretching out his arms, and Venom rippling across his stomach. They lay in the warmth of the early morning sunlight, Venom’s drowsy awareness of Eddie a golden haze emanating from their mind link. 

Eddie knows, without a doubt, that this is what he wants now. Venom tingles over his skin like a caress, registering the change in Eddie’s frame ofthinking. 

**You are certain?**

Venom’s head materializes over Eddie’s stomach and sways uncertainly, his tongue darting out to dance over Eddie’s stubbled cheek. Tendrils of black sneak up his legs and thighs until his bottom half is engulfed in threads of Venom, a package with a bow, a present for no one. 

“Yes.” 

Eddie whispers the word, savoring its taste. 

_Yes._ The simplest of things can make all the difference _Yes._ An affirmative vote for the monster in his body to fully consume him. Like he hasn’t already. _Yes._ Consent is important, and even though they trust each other, neither has ever asked the question. And neither has ever given the answer. 

**Do you want this? Does this make you happy?**

Venom’s tongue becomes more exploratory, fixated on the spot right before Eddie’s ear, where his scruff fades. Swallowing hard, Eddie focuses on transmitting his next affirmation through their connection, a surge of his ticklish anxiety meeting Venom’s bated-breath intensity. There are times where Eddie feels in control, and times where he willingly relinquishes his agency to Venom. But this is none of those scenarios. This playing at the edges is more dangerous, like passing a finger through the flame of a lighter, the movement and feeling hypnotic, the potential of being burnt unhealthily intoxicating. The chord between them stretches and flexes, Eddie’s want unspooling throughout his veins. 

Again, Venom’s tongue returns, and Eddie wonders how it doesn’t remind him of a dog, or a cat…he thinks that maybe it’s because it’s so long, and so textured, and so utterly possessive, and because it makes him decidedly more warm than it should.

Working his way over Eddie’s face, and tightening to restrain the rest of his tense body, Venom looms closer and closer until he is sucking Eddie’s soul out through his lips, the world condensing in a single moment of fusion and fire. It’s vampiric, _greedy_ , as though Venom desires something he can only get through probing each point of flesh in Eddie’s mouth. And the taste. As Eddie responds, writhing to relieve himself from the pressure of Venom’s grasp, he tries to figure out what the taste is. 

Cranberry juice.

Cinnamon. 

And maybe he’s imagining it, but…root beer?

All with an underlying mystery ingredient that is purely Venom, that tastes like nothing that exists on Earth, and probably doesn’t, anyway. 

Venom begins experimenting more with his neck, brushing his tongue over Eddie’s collarbones, slightly retracted teeth probing his skin. Eddie recognizes a twinge in their connection as the mutual pleasure of the action seeps into Venom’s mind. Venom attempts a soft bite, pointed teeth sinking in, not enough to breach blood, but enough to leave a definite bruise. It is this thought, in fact, of all the purple that will flower into existence over the course of the day, that makes Eddie whine, that causes him to secede whatever remaining power he holds. He doesn’t want to have it anymore. It’s so much better when it’s Venom’s.

That is not to say, of course, that Venom takes advantage. 

As Venom registers this release, he becomes more reluctant. With the burden of nearly unchecked power on his side, suddenly, things are a lot more complicated than they used to be. The tongue backs out slightly of Eddie’s mouth, and the bonds become looser. But the collision is equally as ferocious as before, the sounds Eddie is making scraping the back of their mind like talons, raking up flurries of other perverse situations and images. 

Over and over, they meet each other, inky black sliding over human flesh, until both are gasping from exertion. Barely comprehensible half-words push across the Eddie-Venom barrier, slurs of _yes_ and _more_ and _again_. The kinds of words that Eddie has written in letters before, whispered into hair before, except now he’s just thrusting his hips into an amorphous form that is hovering over his bed, and feeling his lips part in a shape that resembles the wanton hollow of a tulip. 

He wants all of him to be inside Venom, he wants all of Venom to be inside of him, he wants to be closer. Venom, recognizing this desire with pinprick alertness, finishes tooling around with his neck and leans down hungrily a final time, ribbons of black stretching tight over Eddie’s body, contouring to his erection. 

They are aware of one thing before they sleep. 

It’s a quiet thought that floats between them, and barely a word. 

Just the idea of home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PS: this is not the ending of the fic!!!!!! i know it might be sort of written that way but there is still a lot of shit for them to go through. <3 just in case you were worried lol. 
> 
> also could you tell that i have never written monster porn before???


	6. Isolation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Venom and Eddie go over to Anne's flat for dinner, and talk about feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm back you kooky monsterfuckers! sorry this took so long. thank you again for all the support and love. this story is my swan song. pretty pathetic for a burgeoning fiction writer, but who cares. swans don't really sing. ummmm anyway...please enjoy this chapter! extended musings on venom and eddie's mental health in the later notes.

**I don’t want to.**

_It’s not up to you._

Eddie rings the doorbell again. He squints, looking at his reflection in the window. Jesus. 

**We look fine.**

_I know. Please behave._

**Ugh.**

Anne arrives at the door, blonde hair tucked into a bun. She’s wearing a cashmere sweater and jeans, and earrings that Eddie is sure he purchased for her at some point. Dan appears behind her and puts an arm around her waist. 

“Hey Eddie! Come on in.” 

They step out of the doorway, and Eddie feels momentarily sick as he enters Anne’s flat like a guest, like a _stranger_. He can tell Venom is drawing all the wrong conclusions from this train of thought, but Eddie has totally lost control. A tendril of worry reaches out an prod’s Eddie’s mind, gently yanking him back into the present. _Speak, idiot._

“Hey, guys. Thanks for having me over.” 

The few small changes Dan has made to the living room are immediately recognizable to Eddie. The rearranged couch cushions, the new knick knacks. He looks at Anne, and wonders why she ever loved him at all. 

“How are things? After…um… _it.”_

Venom laughs quietly into their link, enough for Eddie to feel comforted, but not overwhelmed. _If only he knew_ , Venom thinks smugly, flashing images of various unflattering scenarios on Eddie’s consciousness: fingers entwined in sheets, black glistening in moonlight, sweat slicking down the narrow of Eddie’s back. 

“Things have been good. Different, but, ah, good.” 

“That’s great, Eddie.”

Anne smiles in his direction, and Eddie’s breath catches. He feels utterly ridiculous. How is it that after months, she still has this hold over him? They move into the kitchen. The table has already been arranged, with plates and glasses, a striking difference from his own apartment, which is usually ina state of chaos. This is what his life could have been. Clean silverware, button-up shirts, and rice pilaf. In other words, Dan. Dan, the single, pristine entity, with no second form, or second consciousness, Dan, separated from Anne by the tiny voids that form between humans. 

“Yeah. My pieces are getting picked up. Been doing a lot of interviews.”

“After what you’ve been through,” Dan pours Eddie a glass of wine, his handsome face frustratingly understanding, “you deserve to be happy.” 

They begin eating, which is something of a disconcerting experience. Venom has extremely particular food preferences, and the fish makes him viscerally irritable. He begins rolling through Eddie’s body, complaining like a cat denied affection. 

**Eddie…let’s go…bored…fish is horrible…**

No. This night is not going to slip off the rails. Eddie forces himself to make conversation.

“So, Anne. How’s the new job?” 

“It’s going well. Honestly, it’s better to be working pro bono. I enjoy it.”

“Longer hours, though,” Dan says, through a bite of fish.

“Like I didn’t work overtime for my old firm all the time.”

Eddie mentally wrestles Venom, attempting to quiet his vividly insulting commentary of Anne and Dan. It’s not that Venom dislikes either of them, he would just prefer to do other things, like roam the rooftops of San Francisco, or watch HGTV for hours, or eat a bad guy (more satisfying than fish, in Venom’s opinion.) But leaving the dinner table is not an option. Eddie cannot start his shit again. He needs to show Anne that he’s stable. Not just stable, _well-adjusted_. For once in their relationship, he must prove that he can function without supervision. 

Venom’s moaning suddenly ceases. It’s not an angry silence, just a contemplative one. Eddie doesn’t have the time to parse out its exact meaning while he’s trying to keep it all together, so he plows on with the conversation. And for the most part, it’s fine. Dan is too good of a person for Eddie to be angry that he is currently sleeping on his side of the bed, and he shows genuine interest in Eddie’s well-being, which is patronizing, but kindly meant.

After another half hour of meaningless conversation, Anne and Dan walk Eddie to the door, a suppressed brightness in their expressions. They think the world is as it should be. He fooled them. 

The night air is cool on the back of Eddie’s neck, and he doesn’t bother to pull up his jacket. There is something comforting about the chill, and he breathes out, watching curlicues of steam leave his lips. Dead leaves sweep over his shoes. No one is out on a Wednesday night, so the air is dead. Everything hangs. 

_Venom?_

**Yes, Eddie.**

_Still hungry?_

**No.**

_What happened back there? You got so quiet._

**Considering…**

“What, exactly?”

He speaks aloud, far enough down the road so that Anne doesn’t notice he is speaking to no one. 

**Considering you. You thought, earlier…**

Venom struggles to come up with the words. He chooses instead to press Eddie with a series of images, of earlier days, before he met Anne. When he wandered the streets for hours because he couldn't sleep, and fucked people whose names he did not know. 

“I don't understand.” 

**I can help with all of it.**

“Still not following you.”

**The pain.**

“Of what?” Eddie asks, although he knows. He stops walking and attempts to slow his heart, which is beating out of control.

**The pain inside you. All the time. No matter what. I can help. You should have asked.**

“I’m not in pain.” 

**Maybe pain is not the right word. Lonely.**

“Venom, I’m not lonely. You’re in my head 24/7, remember?”

**A loneliness that is not about symbiosis, Eddie.**

And Eddie does know; it just hurts to hear the words. Because he thought he could hide that part of himself from Venom, the part of himself that puts blackholes in his memory, and knots his insides with dread. There is no name for what Eddie feels, and has always felt, but somehow Venom has detected it. Venom materializes from his right shoulder, his wide, toothy smile, less intense. Is it possible for a symbiote to have expressions? To some degree, Eddie thinks. Black tendrils stretch out between his fingers, flowing over his skin. _This is real. And he is here._

**We are here.**

“I don’t want what they have, you know.” 

**Hm?**

“All the clean apartment, white-wine-on-Fridays bullshit. We don’t need it.”

**I know, Eddie.**

**I know.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i saw venom a third time in theaters. fucking sue me!! okay!! i just love! this! movie! it's so good. 
> 
> i interpret venom as a metaphor for the embrace of violence. eddie has this inherently chaotic, relentless side of himself that he doesn't know how to maintain. he and carlton drake have this is in common. the reason why eddie is successful in his symbiosis is that he a) somewhat acknowledges this aspect of his personality, b) is prepared to temper and contend with his darker impulses. drake is not, which makes his symbiosis a constant power struggle, and his death an inevitability. so: confronting your demons head on will lead to you being able to live with them, but relinquishing control and allowing them to drive you leads to further destruction. it makes the movie more interesting, and adds another layer, i think, to all these fan fictions. maybe i'm just trying to justify writing monster porn, but you get the picture. 
> 
> i also have a lot of thoughts regarding eddie's mental health. while he's friendly to everyone he meets, and makes an active effort to help them, he's also shitty at taking care of himself, and probably possibly an alcoholic. i hesitate to deem him "depressed" because i personally don't believe that mental illness should be a slash fic trope (depression is not cute, it's hell), but i do think he has some things to work out. this chapter was my answer to this fact. 
> 
> okay that's all, till next.


	7. Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The things they say to each other.

**What is he talking about?**

_A new piece we’re doing. It’s an expose on the Attorney General of California._

**California…**

_Remember? Continent, country, state, city. Home._

**Ah yes. California is a continent. Segment of San Francisco**

_Sure. Okay, I actually have to pay attention, though._

**Ugh, fine.**

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

**Hmmm…Eddie…**

“Yeah?”

**You see that one?**

“Yeah.” 

**Where I come from. A nearby system. One day, we can go there.**

“I dunno. Remember how I’m terrified of heights?”

**Distinctly.**

“Outer space is kind of off limits, then.” 

**We would not be high up, Eddie. Just constantly falling.**

“Have you been watching _Cosmos_?” 

**It’s very good.**

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

**Eddie Eddie Eddie.**

_Yes?_

**Where does this name come from?**

_My parents. They’re the ones who made me. Gave me life._

**Named myself. But named you, as well.**

_I suppose so._

**We can be Eddie, as well, though.**

_I’m fine with being Venom._

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

“Jesus Christ…”

**You like that?**

“Don’t fucking judge me.” 

**I’ll do it, but you have to say what you want out loud.**

“That’s not fair.” 

**I want what you want, Eddie. I already know. I’m just asking you to say it. Pathetic human…**

“Hey, none of your speciesist bullshit.” 

**All of you humans…know what you want, but never say the words. I understand. It is frightening to have everything you want.**

“I just…” 

**Why all the hesitation?**

“It’s really hard to argue with you when you do that.” 

**Still can't say? Guess we'll be here all night…**

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

“Venom?”

**Yes…**

“Do you think Dan is cute?” 

**Are you joking?**

“No, seriously. What do you think about him?”  
 ****

**I have no thoughts about…Dan.**

“Doctor.”

**What?**

“He’s a doctor. Never mind. This is dumb. Okay, you can change the channel.” 

**He’s fine, I guess. Too laced.**

“You mean, straight-laced.” 

**Dan is boring. He might be nice to eat.**

“We’ve already been through this. You cannot eat Dan. Because that would put me in more shit than I’m already in. So don’t even think it.”

**Mmmmmm. Dannnnnnn.**

“Quit it. Don’t make us want to eat him.”

**Too late.**

“Great, now every time I see him, I’ll be wondering if he’ll pair better with white or red.” 

**Probably looks better in red.**

“Not exactly what I meant…” 

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

**Can we go out?**

“Right this second?”

**Yes, right this second.**

“Why do you care about that park so much? It’s so windy up there.” 

**…No reason.**

“Not _again_.”

**Please.**

“Fine. But please show some restraint around the pigeons. You terrify them.”

**Good.**

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

**Goodnight.**

_Goodnight._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, for this chapter, i sort of imagined different scenarios in the lives of venom and eddie, and what they would talk about in each one. i've been meaning to do a new format chapter for a while, and i settled on this concept. don't worry! the usual narrative style will be coming back, but this is sort of a nice interlude, especially since the world is so fucking crazy right now and sometimes it's nice to enjoy small things. again, thanks for all the love on the last chapter...i was probably the most nervous about posting that one, so i'm glad it was received well!! (although of course i want to hear criticism, if you guys have any.) 
> 
> i usually don't say this on notes, and this one is getting weirdly serious, but i do mean it: please be safe.


	8. Completion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion of Mine.*
> 
> *oh, also, some porn.

A black tendril sneaks out of Eddie’s side, long and slick, whispering around the edge of his t-shirt. Eddie supposed, when it all began, that Venom would not be much of a distraction. He was incorrect. The tendril sneaks up his skin, pinching sightly, a biologically foreign yet intimately familiar sensation. Eddie stares at his computer screen, stupidly pretending to ignore Venom, as if the symbiote could not already read the spike in their heart rate. Eddie types out a few incomprehensible sentences, all of which will need heavy editing later on. The tendril continues working up and down Eddie’s stomach, a light, mocking chuckle echoing somewhere deep in Eddie’s mind. 

**You cannot hide from me, Eddie.**

_Oh, but I’m gonna fucking try._

They sit in silence, Eddie’s breath uneven, the tendril working on his neck. This is what ultimately makes Eddie stop, in fact, the heaviness around his neck. And before he can even think the thought, Venom has him in a light chokehold, tendril coiled around his collarbones. His hands leave his computer and he sits back in his chair, attempting to breathe. _Breathe_. It’s a tiny bit humiliating that this one move has such a dizzying effect, but he can’t help it. He collides with Venom in his mind, his energy red and hot, while Venom’s is coolly calculating.

Sadistic asshole. 

The tendril tightens imperceptibly slowly, and Eddie makes a move to roll down his jeans and get to work. Instantly, more tendrils shoot out of his body, and bind him to the chair.

**Quiet.**

“Are you kidding me?”

He bucks against the bonds, but Venom does not loosen them or turn soft. Up in Eddie’s head, birds sing, and clouds shimmer, as the asphyxiation makes itself felt. Another tendril creeps out and fiddles with his chin, suckering over his skin, leaving behind a variety of small bruises that will probably show tomorrow morning. All Eddie can concentrate on is moving his body against Venom’s, finding that source of friction that Venom’s materialization often eagerly supplies. But today is different. There’s an unwillingness in Venom that holds against Eddie like a brick wall, a firm resolve that promises both immense pleasure and immense torture. With every thrust of Eddie’s hips, the symbiote’s flesh becomes viscous, or avoids contact. It’s infuriating. 

_How much longer are we going to do this?_

The thought is clumsy, almost as though Eddie is inebriated. And in some sense, he is, drunk on the sensation of closeness, on the formless heat that has overtaken his whole being. Venom’s head pops out from Eddie’s shoulder and his grin is entirely malicious, no trace of gentleness left.

Eddie suddenly realizes that he is prey. In this precise moment, he is the prey of a creature who does not understand morality. This creature has no instinctual sense of right and wrong. This creature can only feel,ingest dopamine like water. It doesn’t have to view Eddie as human, it doesn’t have to view Eddie as alive. Right now, Eddie is just an object to be toyed with. 

And he’s fine with that.

**Do we see now?**

The tendrils squeeze with renewed vigor, another entering Eddie’s mouth and twining with his tongue.

_Fuck._

**Eddie…**

It’s impossible to speak or think when that _thing_ is in his mouth.

**Eddie…**

_You absolute prick._

**Us?**

Venom smiles innocently, leaning down to touch his forehead to Eddie’s. 

**We would never hurt you.**

Eddie makes some humiliating sound around the appendage attempting to choke him. Venom blankets his body over Eddie’s squirming torso, thick and heavy, pleasure rippling across his flesh and doubling back to Eddie through their mental bond. This time, there are no soft edges. Each square centimeter of Venom’s skin is barbed, catching onto Eddie, ensnaring him. Eddie suddenly feels that he is falling through space, the same heart-stopping, breathtaking feeling as swinging through the skyscrapers of San Francisco. His ministrations become desperate, his breathing ragged. Venom’s tongue flicks out and scratches over his earlobe. 

Venom’s deep laughter resonates through their link.

**_Love you._ **

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

Lying on his bed in his own cold sweat, Eddie has a thought: _Anne_. Instantly, Venom recoils, draws back, retreating into his host’s body. 

Eddie can’t do anything now that the though has echoed between them, but he wishes he could take it back. 

He remembers suddenly all the other _love you’s_ , leaving for work, whispered between kisses. Venom flinches, as though this line of thinking is causing him physical pain. The words have jostled something loose in Eddie’s subconscious, and memories of a past life roar to the forefront of this mind, filled in with agonizingly clear color. Who was this person? Eddie watches himself walk up the stairs to Anne’s apartment, arms full of groceries.

Venom joins him in observance of this strange cache of moments. Eddie feels him arrive, like a person sneaking into the back row of a cinema. A past Eddie stands on the San Francisco boardwalk. 

_I love you too, Venom._

**Why did we think of Anne then?**

Her face glimmers, apparition-like, into existence. Somehow, her appearance doesn’t hurt Eddie anymore. She doesn’t belong to him. And she never did. In some ways, it was more like Eddie belonged to her.

_I think I’m saying goodbye to her. To the idea that I love her._

Anne wavers for a moment and then snaps shut, like the iridescent surface of a bubble closing into itself. A weight is lifted from Eddie and Venom, and they become shy, now that this final barrier has been removed. 

They lie together, noticing each other. 

They stay that way for a long time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the end kids. yep. the real ending. i though this would be the best way to round out the whole thing. with final, and total, ownership of each other. thank you so much for showing this dumb story so much love and attention. i'll be publishing more venom fic soon, i just have to finish up a few different concept ideas. this was so much fun to write and i appreciate every single subscriber and commenter. <3 <3 <3 thank you thank you thank you! 
> 
> \- figs 
> 
> if you're looking for something to read...try my new fic ["black as night"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17273393/chapters/40621097) which is about dreams, or ["ghost town"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17579705/chapters/41434859) which is about government intrigue. (both symbrock, obviously.)


End file.
